Short Sale of a Home to a Relative There is no law outlawing short sales of a home to a relative per se. What you will need to do is to prove to the bank that this is on the up and up; that your relative is getting the same terms that a stranger would get in an arm’s length transaction. Transparency and documentation should be your watchwords. → Read More
Clean-Up of Property With Hazardous Waste or Toxins: CERCLA Liability CERCLA makes both current and former property owners jointly and severally liable for the cleanup of contaminated property unless you are exempt as a bona fide prospective purchaser, a contiguous property owner or an innocent landowner. Bona fide prospective purchasers are those who enter into a covenant with the EPA granting them liability protection before they buy contaminated land. Contiguous property owners are those who own property that is contaminated by their neighbor’s behavior. Innocent landowners are those who acquire property and who have no knowledge of the contamination at the time of their purchase. → Read More
Environmental and Hazardous Materials Inspection Before Buying a Home If you are buying a new property, there are several steps you can take to determine if there are any hazardous materials, such as (1) a home inspection by a certified inspector, (2) the history of any permits pulled on the property as well as whether there is any information available on public records about the surrounding area and (3) disclosures, although exactly what must be disclosed varies by state. → Read More
What Land Uses Do Zoning Laws Regulate? Zoning laws regulate a number of different things. They may indicate exactly what can be done with a given piece of land. For example, a residential zone must have only residential houses, while you cannot typically live in a commercial zone. → Read More
Zoning Laws for Unrelated People Living Together in the Same House Yes, there can be a zoning ordinance against unrelated people living together. Any zoning ordinance that attempts to restrict unrelated individuals from living together must be able to clearly explain why a certain number of unrelated people can’t live together, define what the law means by the terms unrelated and living together, and what the penalties are. → Read More
A Life Estate in Real Property A life estate is an ownership interest in land that allows the holder of the life estate interest possession of the property until the death of the measuring person’s life. → Read More
Partition of Jointly Owned Property Where joint owners cannot agree on the whether or not to sell a jointly owned piece of real estate, the party or parties seeking the sale can go to court and file an action for “partition”. A partition action involves the division of property such as a home, farm, or undeveloped land (in some cases it can also apply to certain personal property as well). → Read More
Letters of Intent for Residential Real Estate Transactions Using letters of intent in buying and selling a home. Contents of letters of intent for residential real estate vs. formal real estate contracts. → Read More
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